Hartford - Outside a Walgreens store on Washington Street this morning, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal plans to call on drug store chains to follow the lead of Rhode-Island based CVS and stop selling tobacco products in their stores.

Blumenthal's office said in a statement Sunday that he will call on Walgreens, Rite Aid and other drug stores to follow CVS, which announced earlier this year that it would stop selling tobacco products in its 7,600 stores by Oct. 1 because doing so conflicted with its mission to promote good health. Last week, CVS announced it had completed the effort ahead of schedule, a move that is costing the chain $2 billion a year in sales. Walgreens has said it will continue selling tobacco products.

Blumenthal plans to release a letter this morning that he is sending to Walgreens, Rite Aid, and the National Association of Chain Drug Stores formally requesting that the stores stop selling tobacco products.